At the US Open on Thursday, all eyes were on Jannik Sinner, who made his first appearance on the practice courts in New York since it was announced that he had avoided a doping ban after successfully arguing that two positive doping tests were the result of contamination.
On Tuesday, Sinner and the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced that traces of the banned substance clostebol had been found twice in doping samples taken in March. An independent court then ruled that Sinner was not to blame for the failed tests and could not be accused of negligence.
The announcements came a day after Sinner won his second Masters 1000 title at the Cincinnati Open, defeating Frances Tiafoe in straight sets. After flying to New York and missing the Billie Jean King Tennis Center on Tuesday and Wednesday, Sinner trained with Grigor Dimitrov in a lunchtime practice session on Thursday.
Sinner, who followed fellow world number one Iga Swiatek on the training court 1, was greeted with loud cheers by the fans in the packed stands and the 23-year-old was also greeted warmly by Dimitrov. Sinner was accompanied by his coaches Simone Vagnozzi, who oversaw the session, and Darren Cahill, who frequently gave his protégé advice.
While Sinner was previously accompanied by his fitness coach Umberto Ferrara and his physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi, they remained absent on Thursday. During the independent tribunal, Sinner’s team said Ferrara had bought Trofodermin, an over-the-counter spray, and Naldi had used the spray to treat a cut on his finger. During his regular massage treatments, they argued, Naldi had contaminated Sinner. On Tuesday, Cahill said they were still in the process of deciding what Sinner’s team would look like going forward.
“Right now it’s just Simone and I, the two coaches, here,” Cahill said. “And we’re supporting Jannik at the moment. (The decision) is only 24 hours old. So we’ll just keep going and see what happens.”
While Sinner and Dimitrov trained on neighboring courts alongside greats such as Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Ben Shelton, the tournament’s individual draws were announced at midday.
Sinner, the top seed, will face favorite Mackenzie McDonald in the first round in a closely contested first half. Sinner could potentially face Medvedev, the fifth seed and 2021 champion, in the quarterfinals. Alcaraz, the third seed and 2022 champion, has been drawn in Sinner’s half and the two could meet in the semifinals.
Fresh from his Olympic gold medal, Novak Djokovic will begin his hunt for his 25th Grand Slam title against a qualifier. Djokovic may face 28th seed Alexei Popyrin, the surprise winner of the Montreal Masters 1000 earlier this month, but the 37-year-old has been handed a favourable draw in his return to hard court for the first time since March.
Unlike other tournaments that feature a live draw ceremony, US Open organizers have adopted an unpopular “draw reveal” format in which the tournament conducts the draw behind closed doors and then announces it at a set time.
The women’s draw saw numerous notable pairings to announce, including one that sees Emma Raducanu face Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, on her return to New York. Raducanu is seeking her first US Open win since her surprise 2021 triumph, after losing in the first round of her title defense to Alizé Cornet in 2022 and then missing the 2023 edition after undergoing surgery.
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Raducanu has been in top form in her competitions and, after her fourth-round appearance at Wimbledon, also reached the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 tournament in Washington. However, she has not played since the first week of the hard court tour, having opted not to take part in qualifying rounds at the major tournaments.
Among the other British players, 31st seed Katie Boulter will face a qualifier in the first round and Harriet Dart will open her tournament against French wildcard Chloe Paquet. Jack Draper, seeded 25th, has a tough first round match against Zhang Zhizhen of China, with a possible third round match against Alcaraz looming if both players live up to their seedings. Dan Evans, meanwhile, has been drawn against 23rd seed Karen Khachanov.
Naomi Osaka will make her return to the US Open against Jelena Ostapenko, the 10th seed and former French Open champion. Zheng Qinwen, fresh off her Olympic gold medal, will play a tough first-round match against wildcard Amanda Anisimova. Both Swiatek, the 1st seed, and Aryna Sabalenka, the 2nd seed, will face qualifiers in the first round.
